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Air Italy drops its Boeing 787 plans in favor of Airbus A330

Olbia, Italy - Air Italy has postponed its plans to order Boeing 787 Dreamliners due to Boeing-induced delivery delays. The Italian carrier chose Airbus A330 instead of Boeing 787 for its future widebody expansion.

Boeing is in the midst of the biggest crisis in the company history due to its plagued 737 MAX jets after two fatal crashes. Civil Aviation regulators around the world grounded the 737 MAXs and there is not a specific date yet to remove the flight ban.

In addition to the ongoing safety discussions for the Boeing's best-selling single-aisle jets ever, insiders reported safety malpractices for the popular 787s during the production phase.

Dimitrov underlined that the decision was taken because of the ongoing delivery delays with Dreamliners.

"We are looking forward to taking delivery of the Boeing 787s when they are available and as per our business requirements,” Dimitrov said.

The chief operating officer also indicated that their primary goal is to maintain the ongoing dynamic growth of Air Italy while adding new aircraft to the fleet to support the long-haul operations of the airline.

Air Italy currently operates five Airbus A330-200 which were provided by the shareholder Qatar Airways. The Italian low-cost carrier plans to lease the next A330 jets from Qatar Airways again to maintain the consistency in the cabin layout and product offerings.